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Episode
254
Lower Decks
Ever wondered about all of those OTHER people on the Enterprise? This week, they get names! And plot lines! Meet the one that annoys Riker! The one being tested by Worf AND Picard! And who could ever forget the one that annoys Geordi? All of that and a second space bartender, when Mission Log visits the Lower Decks.
Always love seeing the non-bridge crew. Such a better episode than the last. one.
I did not remember the mission that she goes on and was completely shocked at the dressing down that Picard gives here. The justification was a nice turnaround.
Adore this episode. Lovely to see an episode focus on characters not usually seen. The ending is pretty shocking too.
Definitely a great TNG episode & a stand out of season 7.
Sadly there are now less than 10 TNG episodes left!!!
When people complain about season 7, this is a prime example of a good one. of course, next to last weeks show, it’s hard not to be impressed
Yeah, I quite liked this one. Always nice to have a peek behnd the curtain into the inner workings of the ST universe.
Even if we didn’t seen John&Ken peeling potatos in a corner…
Yes, I enjoyed it also. Such a failing of TNG to not flesh out a few other crew members. To have some enlisted members on board! Geez, they made it seem like Chief O’Brien was the only Chief Petty Officer in Starfleet!!!
Also, I felt a little tingle/arm hair stand when Picard began his announcement that she had died. Hearing that tone when a soldier has died, just kinda creeps you out….
An excellent episode, and proof that after two ropey weeks (even if I sneakily enjoyed last week’s there’s no denying it was a stinky mess) there’s still room for innovation this late in the game for the series. And kudos for killing the pretty girl too (and indeed the only character to recurr from a previous story) – not that I generally want pretty girls to be killed, but it gives the story an unsentimental realism. Life’s rough sometimes, and it’s good to see that acknowledged.
Every long-running show should do a script like this, and some have. Defining the situation from a new viewpoint is a great idea. I agree that Sito was the right choice to ‘get on a shuttle.’ <<– New, 'Discovery' jargon for 'redshirt.' In The Walking Dead, whenever they're going to kill a character, he/she gets a lengthy scene early in the ep, then dies minutes later. Sito's loss felt much more 'earned.' I might have liked to see Locarno in this situation, but this certainly had an emotional impact. Plus, we get to meet the waiter who really runs the ship!
I noticed “Orville” does not seem to have a transporter…thought it was an interesting detail!!
Special Guest Star: Woody Wedgewood https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/66982bcce9a33b36a09206b9f195844780d6b7357b7d9e352225a5a0681ccede.jpg
No, it’s Space Wood. But I wouldn’t recommend carving a Space Fork out of it.
??
Only if you like slivers in your tongue 😉
With regard to Ken’s comments about Sito having to boost Lavelle’s morale – if you’re not already familiar with the term, look up “emotional labor”. Yep, there’s actually a term for this, and a lot’s been written about it. It’s something you may not even have thought about before, but it is in fact a thing, and – spoiler alert – it’s a thing that many studies have found falls disproportionately on the shoulders of women. It’s an eye opener to read about.
I remember a lot of Usenet chatter at the time of this episode, actually before it even ran, that this episode was supposedly setting up the crew of Voyager. Heh…sorry, but no! Seems like it would’ve been incredibly unlikely for the entire surviving group – Ogawa, Lavelle, Taurik, and are they going to take Ben with them? – to have transferred to the same ship all in time for Voyager to start.
State reason for assignment transfer request below:
Because all my best buds are going to Voyager and I want to go too! BFFs 4EVA!
If I were a producer with an ear to the internet at the time, I might’ve done something sadistic like move all the Lower Decks characters to Voyager, only to have them all die in the pilot. That’s why I’m not a producer.
I agree that the “momentous” nature of Sito meeting the Cardassian has a lot more impact if you’re also following Deep Space Nine at the same time; TNG’s 7th season was concurrent with DS9’s second season, so anyone following the franchise as a whole would have gotten what was up there. Still, I think enough was done directorially to sell the moment on its own.
I’m glad that DS9 never did the much-touted “Tom Riker & Sito break out of Cardassian prison” follow-up. Not that I didn’t like either character, but it would have cheapened the narrative currency of both of their exits from the story.
I’d assume that Worf’s investment in Sito is that she’s in his department – she says she’s in security. They probably train with him quite a bit, so it’s not like this is the first time he’s set eyes on her (it is for us, the audience, though). She probably has to do more Klingon tai-chi than the average crewmember. If Worf’s any kind of a good department head – hey, he’s a great dad, so it just sorta follows, right? – he is invested in the folks under his command.
I know some books about the USS Excalibur feature Commander Shelby and Dr. Selar…I really wish Voyager had kept Locarno and another TNG or DS9 character would have been cool!
Crusher didn’t even ask if Ogawa of she was in love with a cool Scottish ghost or not.
While I agree that Guinan would have worked so much better than a one-off character as the go-between, overall this is one hidden gem of an episode. Different focus and an unexpectedly sad ending.
You are now crossing the line of injecting sexism into something that doesn’t exist. You are literally complaining that 2 characters interacting with each other in any way with each other is sexist because their sexes are different v.v
Really loved that they took an episode to look at the…well, lower deck characters and how Deanna deflated Riker’s animosity toward Lavelle.
Hey! I just binge watched the original Upstairs/Downstairs. I totally look forward to you two doing that podcast. I say it’s gotta come before Kolchak or Moonlighting.